The Story of Blinders

The other day, I had my high tea at a tea stall near my institute, quite good for a hangout place. A few people marched in, ordered their snacks, and started chitchatting. I overheard their conversation, for it was the most interesting topic, “Politics”. Now this chit-chatting soon turned into a heated argument. What I gathered from that conversation is that most of them presented an argument not for the political leaders or party that has helped them, but for the party they have blind faith in, even if the said leaders did no good to them. This blind belief or in popular terms “Andh-Bhakti” is a phenomenon that has caught most of us off guard, yes we are unaware of it.

These people are called so because of their unwavering belief or blind allegiance towards religious figures, political leaders, ideologies, etc. “Andh Bhakti”, often used in a negative context, suggests a lack of rationality and unwillingness to consider alternative viewpoints.

HOW HAVE THEY REACHED AT THIS REALM?

Let me be obvious, nobody is at fault for this. As we become older, we gain sense, we start believing in certain ideologies and personalities. The way they affect our lives is different. What I think is the core problem is our lack of observation of our surroundings. Take the example of a horse, who wears blinders. The horse will only go in the direction the rider wants. People are similar to this, we are not horses, but the way leaders trap us into their beliefs and ideologies gives them the benefit of the doubt, and the next moment we become their followers. Also, most normal citizens like us aren't trained to question, we start believing, like you might believe in my ideologies after reading this. This belief soon fosters into blind following which captivates our process of thinking and questioning. 

HOW TO MAKE THEM RATIONAL BEINGS?

I think the real problem with these kind of people is the nonacceptance of others' opinions and the belief that they are always right. As a society, we need to make sure that is suppressed. In my opinion, we have 2 possible options -

1. Firstly, we have to foster critical thinking. This will not only promote curiosity but will also expose individuals to diverse perspectives and analytical skills. We can do this by encouraging more open dialogue. Add to that, by challenging assumptions and cultivating a habit of reflection, people might develop an open mindset, may move out of the house, remove their ‘blinders’, and see from a broader perspective.

2. Apart from this, we need to make sure that all of us use multiple and credible news sources. This will give us a broader viewpoint and form an opinion based on the positives and negatives of the story. Furthermore, I humbly request you to not be a student of Whatsapp University or blindly trust anything you encounter over the internet or social media. 

CONCLUSION

For me, I don't blindly support any particular political party or leader, I am trying to be an idealistic voter who believes in certain political ideologies and policies and will probably vote for the leader who best aligns with those ideologies and is genuinely trying to work for a change. But here's a quote that actually sums up them and will probably force you to think and ponder,

I am not trying to spread hate here, but given how much "Andhbhakti" has spread over the years, I'll quote

"At the end of the day, no matter how sweet they look and work, our governments are just big business houses who work for themselves and their mere seats, fellows who cover everything with social schemes"

**The purpose of this blog is not to spread any form of hate towards the supporters/ followers of any political party or leader. This is purely my opinion based on observation and I am not forcing my thoughts on any reader.

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